When hotel loyalty programs in Canada focus on things besides points, that is usually when they attract brand loyalty.
Patrick Sojka, the founder of RewardsCanada.ca and FrequentFlyerBonuses.com, told Loyalty360 that RewardsCanada.ca examined the top hotel reward offerings including room upgrades, late check-out privileges, and food and beverage vouchers. It also tracks programs that offer special sign-up and first redemption bonus offers.
Sojka said the complete guide (http://www.rewardscanada.ca/canadianhotelprograms/) provides program highlights and sign-up offers for more than 10 of Canada’s independent hotel chains.
Loyalty360 caught up with Sojka to discuss some of his findings related to Canadian hotel loyalty programs.
What are the top hotel reward offerings in Canada and what are the common customer-related themes among them?
The Top Hotel Reward offerings outside of the major brand hotel chains are from the larger Canadian owned programs like Fairmont President's Club and Coast Hotels Coast Rewards. They have elite tier levels that provide better benefits for their members. However in general for all of the Canadian programs some common themes are internet access, early check in and/or late check out and upgrades to better rooms.
What are these companies doing well regarding customer loyalty programs and where do they need to improve?
Many of them are realizing that a loyalty program is more than just points and that the programs need to include additional benefits over and above points. So we do see a lot of them providing the common themes. Many of them do have to improve, however, on the points side, the earn-and-burn ratios are quite weak compared to many of the larger hotel chain programs. Also, they should look at potentially partnering with other chains for redemptions as some of these programs only have three or four hotels in their portfolio, which severely limits where you can use points.
What trend (s) do you see from this latest report?
Possibly the biggest trend I see is companies moving away from joining the big two programs in Canada (AIR MILES and Aeroplan) as they do prove to be costly. With companies like Loyalty Engine providing affordable back-end systems, it is pretty easy for companies to start their own programs.
What were you most surprised by from the report?
I was surprised that there were more programs than we even knew about! Small family-owned hotel chains of only three or four hotels having loyalty programs really surprised me.
What is the biggest challenge for hoteliers when it comes to loyalty programs?
I believe for these Canadian chains, outside of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the biggest challenge is competing against major chains like Best Western, IHG, Starwood, Marriott, and Starwood.